What Happened and How to Keep Your Family Safe

My uncle Ramesh sat at my kitchen table on Tuesday with his hands shaking. He had received a WhatsApp video call from a man sitting under a police banner wearing a khaki uniform.

“They told me a parcel in Mumbai with my Aadhaar card inside had banned drugs,” Ramesh uncle told me, his voice trembling. “The man said I was under digital arrest and had to transfer four lakh rupees to an RBI verification account, or a team would kick down my door in one hour.”

I took his phone, hugged him, and told him to breathe.

I said, “Uncle, there is no such thing as a digital arrest in any Indian law book. You are sitting in my kitchen drinking tea. How can someone arrest you through a smartphone screen?”

Think about it like a schoolyard bully. A big kid buys a cheap plastic police whistle, stands outside the school gate, and yells that he will throw you in jail unless you hand over your pocket money.

Would you give him your money? Of course not.

Real police officers don’t call people on WhatsApp. If an officer wants to talk to you, they write a paper notice and deliver it to your home. They never ask you to transfer savings into any secret bank account.

I gave my uncle two easy rules:

First, whenever someone calls on video threatening jail time and asking for money, cut the call immediately. Don’t argue. Just press the red button.

Second, tell your family right away. Scammers tell you to sit in a locked room alone because they know as soon as you talk to someone else, the trick fails.

Then I helped him install the CYBX app on his phone. CYBX is a security super-app made by 63SATS. It acts like a shield on your phone.

When known fraud numbers or fake callers dial your phone, CYBX identifies the trickster and blocks the call before your ringtone can even start. It also watches out for fake links sent via SMS and warns you if your phone number is being shared among scam gangs on the dark web.